by Alice Ward
“Anything I can get you?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “This is perfect.”
A deep rumbling started in my chest. I was a wild animal, savage and in rut. I was ready to claim the woman in front of me, to devour each inch of her, to make her tremble at my touch. I slowly stood and pressed myself against Riley’s legs. She collapsed and fell backward.
Having her splayed out in front of me, looking so innocent, nearly made me burst. I calmed myself with a shaking breath and pushed down the top of her dress. Her chest heaved as I rolled the fabric down her waist and peeled it from her legs. A long, lithe form—better than I even hoped it would be—waited for my undivided attention.
Climbing onto the bed, I rested my forearms on either side of Riley’s head and kissed her openmouthed. Slowly, I trailed my fingers over her bare shoulders. They skimmed her bra straps, but I made no move to undo any more of her clothes. Instead, I swirled my palms over her bra cups. Her nipples instantly hardened at the touch.
Riley arched her back and pushed herself closer to me, breasts and hips grinding against my body. My dick pulsed and grew harder, begging to be released from the tight fabric of my pants.
Pushing my hands under the small of Riley’s back, I rolled over and brought her with me. We landed in the middle of the bed, her on top of me. A giggle left her, and I responded by sneaking my hands under her panties. My fingers hit her slick wetness, and I smiled. She was more than ready for me. I could slide into her right then, and it would be easier than slicing through butter.
I pressed the pad of my thumb against her hard nub and made her whimper in pleasure. She dropped her face to mine, her hair falling to create a veil around us. We kissed as I stroked her, each movement of my hand causing her hips to thrust against me. A low moan hummed in her throat as I kissed her deeper, eager to take her pleasure and make it my own.
Riley’s breathing became harsher. Just as she got close to the brink, I took my hand away from her mound. Swift as I could, I flipped her around, shifting her beneath me. I twisted her panties in my hands and shucked them from her thighs. Her legs opened right away, and I didn’t waste any time burying my face against her wetness.
With as much self-control as I could muster, I took my sweet time licking and teasing Riley’s soft opening. Sharp hisses and low moans filled the room. She was loud, and I loved it. You’d think the girl hadn’t been touched by a man in years.
I sped my motions up and furiously lapped at her tight pearl. Her hands found the top of my head, and sharp nails dug into my scalp, but the pain only spurred me on. Riley finally exploded with a deep cry, her body trying to twist away from the intensity of what she was experiencing.
I didn’t give her any time to recover. At this point, I was in actual pain. Rearing up onto my knees, I ripped my shirt off and tossed it to the floor. I had to stand to get my pants and boxers off, but that just took me halfway to the bedside table. Ripping the small drawer open, I seized a condom and rolled it on.
Riley waited for me right where I left her, one finger pressed against the corner of her mouth. The city lights glowed on one side of her face, making her look like the subject of a carefully constructed photograph.
I eased down onto my side and unhooked and removed her bra. She rolled sideways to face me, one hand propping her head up. My palm took charge, blazing a path down the side of her body and over her hips. Riley’s eyes closed halfway, and her free hand pressed against my chest. Her fingers squeezed my muscles and slid south, gliding their way across my abs.
My cock jerked as her hand found it. She tugged it lightly, almost gingerly. Lightning bolts seemed to shoot across my vision. I couldn’t wait one more second. I needed to be inside this woman. I needed to hear her ragged breathing, to have her say my name.
Seizing Riley’s hips, I guided her onto her back. I lowered myself onto her, sliding perfectly between her legs. She lifted her head, eager to meet my mouth. Our lips collided just as I pushed inside of her.
Riley sighed into my mouth, and her walls squeezed around me. Hooking my arms around her back, I pumped into her in a slow, steady pace. Pleasure wracked my body as I worked to control my movements, not wanting this to end too soon. Sweat leaked from each pore, creating a slick barrier between our bodies.
Riley gasped and jerked underneath me, her beautiful eyes rolling back into her head. I increased the speed, pouring all the energy I had into taking her. She shook and erupted, her hands clutching onto my shoulders for dear life. I let loose and exploded into her. My orgasm went on and on, never seeming to end.
Completely emptied and exhausted, I eased myself off of Riley and collapsed next to her. Our thick breaths filled the air, and my head spun with giddiness.
What just happened?
I’d had a lot of sex, and with a lot of women. I’d had the most vanilla sex possible, and sex that would make a porn star blush. But what I just had with Riley was something different.
Different. But that’s what everything with her was, wasn’t it?
CHAPTER SEVEN
Riley
Eyes still closed, I rolled onto my stomach and buried my face in the cool pillow. Everything around me felt delicious. The sheets were silky soft and the comforter thick. But how long had I been sleeping? Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes and eased up to sitting.
The first thing I noticed was that I was alone in Xavier’s bedroom. The other side of the bed was rumpled from a night of activity but missing the man who fell asleep next to me. The blinds on the windows were half-closed, keeping the room in a semi-dark state. It could have been any hour of the morning. I rubbed my eyes, peered at the bedroom door, and listened for any nearby sounds.
There was nothing. Tossing the sheets and comforter off, I stood up. I had fallen asleep completely naked, but the temperature in the penthouse was perfect. I didn’t need clothes at all.
Not that I’m going to walk around nude in some other person’s apartment. Even if we did just have sex.
I caught sight of my dress on the floor. Snatching it up, I began the search for the rest of my belongings. My purse sat on a nearby chair, but my shoes and underwear proved harder to find.
I contemplated the previous night as I shimmied into my panties and slipped on my high heels. I. Went. Home. With. Xavier. Fields. It almost seemed unbelievable. Then again, I had known where this whole thing was headed from the beginning. I’d tried to stay away, but I couldn’t. And I’d done the one thing I knew would be a bad idea. I slept with Xavier on the first date.
If he really was the womanizer I first suspected, I’d walked right into his trap. Not that I didn’t enjoy it. God, did I enjoy it. I’d almost forgotten how good sex could be. Or maybe it was just that I’d never had sex like the kind I’d had with Xavier.
Realizing I hadn’t put my bra on, I began a search around the room for it. Not finding it under the covers or on the floor, I dropped to my knees and lifted the bed’s skirt. There my bra sat, a few inches under the bed. Right next to it rested a light brown box. I pulled out my bra and eyed the box. Normally I wouldn’t be so curious, but it was the only thing under the bed. I’d also noticed that Xavier didn’t have a lot of personal objects in his room. There was basically only furniture. Whatever was in the box must have been important to him.
I glanced at the doorway. Should I, or shouldn’t I?
“Hello?” I called.
No answer. It seemed I really was alone in the apartment. Which meant this was probably my only chance to get an inside look at the mystery that was Xavier Fields. Slowly, I pulled the box out and lifted the cover.
The box was full of objects, one of them a black leather whip and another a pair of handcuffs. There were also ribbons of soft satin and rubber toys I didn’t recognize. I did know they were all sex toys though. A rush of excitement went through me at the same time guilt pointed its finger. I closed the box and pushed it back under the bed.
So Xavier was into r
ough play. I’d never experienced it myself, though I’d wondered about it from time to time. What would it be like to be tied up? To be completely at another person’s whim and mercy?
Would I even get the chance to find out? Or was Xavier tired of me already, and that was why I woke up to an empty apartment?
I figured I might be being silly. It was Monday morning. He likely had to rush to work. At this point, I still didn’t know a lot about the guy… other than that he showed me an amazing evening the night before. And that kind of thing was going to be hard to let go of.
I rolled my dress down to get my bra on, then snatched up my purse and checked my phone. There were twelve missed calls and three text messages from Ann-Marie. Please tell me you’re alive, her last message read.
Rolling my eyes, I took my purse and ventured out into the penthouse. Just as I’d expected, I was completely alone. A note from Xavier waited for me in the kitchen, one that apologized for having to go to work before I woke and telling me he had a “great time last night.” The message made me smile, so I folded it up and tucked it away in my purse.
Perching on one of the bar stools, I called Ann-Marie. She answered right away.
“Riley?!” Panic made the single word a near screech.
“Who else would it be?”
“A serial killer pretending to be you.”
“Nope. It’s just plain old me.”
“Thank God,” she sighed. “Next time you’re not coming home, do me a favor and let me know.”
“I will. Sorry about that. You didn’t call the police, did you?”
“Almost. I’m serious. I was just sitting here thinking about doing that. You’re supposed to text me the address of the place you’re at. Remember? We made up this safety plan years ago. And if you’re not coming home, freaking let me know.”
I pushed my hair out of my face. “I know. I’m really sorry. I guess I was really caught up in the moment last night.”
“You mean you got laid, right?”
“Yep.”
There was a new lightness in her voice. “How was it?”
“Amazing… like, wow.”
“Where are you now?”
“I’m at Xavier’s. He left for work.” I looked around the kitchen and adjourning dining room. It was as stylishly decorated as the master bedroom but, just like Xavier’s room, completely lacking in personal taste. With no photographs or knickknacks laying around, I felt like I was in the middle of a model house. The place seemed to be selling the idea of what a home should be, rather than actually being a home.
“Are you going to go through his stuff?”
The question made me burn with embarrassment as I remembered the box under his bed. “There’s really not much to go through. It doesn’t look like he has a lot of fun here.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“God, don’t get defensive. I just mean he seems kind of, I don’t know, boring.”
I was defensive, I realized. “Well, he’s not. And you were saying yourself that he probably gets around.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s interesting.”
“We had an awesome time last night.”
She laughed. “I bet you did.”
“He might not get around. I don’t see any woman’s things here.”
“Sorry, Riley. That means he probably is active… if you know what I mean.”
A muffled voice said something on her end. “Yeah,” she agreed. “Riley? I have to get back to work.”
I pressed the heel of my hand into my eye. “Please tell me no one has been listening to our conversation.”
“Okay, no one has been listening to our conversation. But Leslie does want to know how the package was. Also, was it delivered standard or express?”
“Ann-Marie!” I admonished as two voices broke out into laughter.
“I gotta go,” she chuckled. “See you at home.”
“All right. Bye.”
I hung up and went into the bathroom to fix myself up before the subway ride home. I might have been wearing last night’s dress and heels, but at least I could wash my face and redo my makeup so my walk of shame wouldn’t be that obvious. Though I’d slept till ten, I was still exhausted. If I hurried home, there would be time to nap for an hour or two before I needed to get ready for this afternoon’s bar shift.
Once I looked decent, I took my purse and made my way through the foyer. Before closing the door behind me, I gave the penthouse one last look. Was my one night spent in it the beginning of a semi-regular thing? Or would I never see the place again?
In reality, I was wondering about Xavier. Now that we’d slept together, was he done with me? Or would he surprise me and turn out to be nothing like the man I was afraid he was?
I couldn’t think too much about it. And I couldn’t wait around for his call. I’d drive myself insane. We had an amazing night together, and it didn’t matter what I now wanted. I needed to focus on the things I had to get done. I needed to close this door and get on with my life, no matter if I heard from Xavier again or not.
And so I did just that… or at least tried.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Xavier
“According to Vanessa, if the numbers work out well, we should be seeing an increase in revenue by September. I’m e-mailing you last week’s reports now. Did you see the Forbes article I sent? Mr. Fields?”
I jerked in my chair and turned to look at Kenneth. My assistant blinked back at me from over his laptop. “Is everything all right?” he asked. “Would you like another coffee?”
I looked down at the barely touched cup on my desk and cleared my throat. “No, I’m fine. What was… what was that about the reports?”
Kenneth plunged on, giving me this number and that number. His words quickly became an endless stream of meaningless babble. It wasn’t his fault. The whole morning had been that way. Ever since I left Riley at my penthouse.
The image of her sleeping came back to me. The way she curled up on her side, one hand clutching the edge of the pillow… I wanted to burrow back under the sheets with her and never leave. I’d thought of waking her before I rolled out of bed so that we could have a quick repeat of last night’s activities, but she looked so perfect laying there I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
It wasn’t often that I had such desires. Usually, only the most special women made me want to go for a second round. But, when it came to this case, I really couldn’t be surprised. I knew Riley was different the second I first set eyes on her.
All morning, my mind had been occupied with ideas and plans. I was going to take Riley out again, but our next jaunt needed to happen on a whole new level. Dinner and a dance on a rooftop wasn’t enough. Any man with half a brain could come up with such a basic date. Riley deserved more. And I wanted to give her more.
At least for a little while. I couldn’t keep her all to myself for long. I wouldn’t be able to. There were… rules… stipulations.
Eventually, she’d need to go on the list, just like every other woman I’d slept with. It was a promise I’d made to myself, Davis, Julian, and Seth. And it was one I’d never once gone back on. As far as I knew, the same was true for the three other men. We may have had our occasional issues with each other, but the list was sacred. It was the holy grail of our small group, and we didn’t disrespect it.
Once Riley’s name was added to that list, she’d no longer exclusively be mine. She’d be fair game, subject to the attention of the three other men. If one of them saw her picture and decided he wanted her, all he’d have to do was look up her information and make a move.
My hands curled into fists at the idea. I had absolutely no plan to make Riley my girlfriend, but the thought of some other man putting his hands on her made me see red.
“Mr. Fields?”
I looked over and found Kenneth staring at me again. Sitting up straighter, I folded my hands on top of my desk. I had no c
lue whatsoever regarding what was going on.
I cleared my throat. “Let’s take a break. Go to lunch early.”
Suspicion entered his eyes, but he just nodded. It wasn’t his job to question me, and he knew that. “Yes, sir.”
“You can make it a long lunch. I might take off for a while.”
“Yes, sir. Let me know if you need anything.”
Once the door fell shut behind him, I pushed my chair back and went to stand at the window. Squeezing my eyes shut, I pinched the bridge of my nose. I’d never worried about mental illness before, but maybe this was what it was like to go insane. Try as hard as I might, I couldn’t go twenty seconds without Riley crossing my mind.
I needed a distraction. Work wasn’t doing it, so that left only one option. I needed to fight. I needed to channel all of this unchecked energy into my fists, put it somewhere it could be of use. Because it wasn’t doing any good stuffed inside of me.
Pulling out my cell, I scrolled down and found the last text I’d sent to Enigma’s head of security. Before I could type anything, though, Davis called.
“Hello?”
“Xavier. You have a moment?”
“I do.” I stepped away from the window and sat back down at my desk. There was a tightness in Davis’ voice that suggested an urgency. “What’s going on?”
“Seth brought a girl into Enigma’s office.”
The news sent annoyance shooting through me. “You’re serious?”
“Yes. One of the staff saw him bring her in there last night.”
I let out a low whistle. Not even attempting to hide his charade was so like Seth. “Have you talked to him?”
“I did, but you know that little prick.”
I barked out a laugh. “You get to say that because you’re related to him. The rest of us only get to think it.”
“It’s getting increasingly harder to call him anything else. Can you do me a favor? I’m still in L.A., and I won’t be back until next week. Talk to him, if you can. He needs to know how serious this is. I came down pretty hard on him, but if you say something as well, it’ll help out.”
